Almost 8,000 Nova Scotia Power customers without power in wake of extreme cold

As Nova Scotians deal with a blast of frigid weather, some are also dealing with power outages.

As of 7:30 p.m. AT Saturday, around 8,000 Nova Scotia Power customers were without electricity.

The primary reason behind the outages is strong winds, which are causing trees to fall on lines, said Nova Scotia Power's senior director of transmission and distribution operations, Matt Drover.

Extreme cold warnings were in place for Nova Scotia Saturday, but were lifted by mid-afternoon. Environment Canada expected temperatures would feel as cold as –43 C in the morning, before warming up later in the morning and into the afternoon.

CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon expects temperatures this afternoon to be in the –20s and low –30s with the wind chill.

Drover said most people should have their power restored tonight.

He said the company has 200 field workers staged across the province to do the restorations.

"We're working very closely with our neighbouring provinces to help with all of the power demand and we definitely understand how frustrating this can be for our customers," said Drover. "So rest assured, we're doing everything we can to get your power back on as quickly as possible."

Besides the cold, many areas of the province are under snow squall and wind warnings.

Snow squall warnings are in place in Annapolis, Digby, Hants, Inverness, Kings, Shelburne, Victoria and Yarmouth counties.

"Visibility will be suddenly reduced to near zero at times in heavy snow and blowing snow," Environment Canada warned. "Travel is expected to be hazardous due to reduced visibility in some locations."

Wind warnings are also in effect for Inverness and Victoria counties.

Police are warning there are whiteout conditions on highways and roads across the province, especially highways 101 and 102, it said in a tweet.

In a statement, Halifax Water said some customers have lost service because of the cold. It recommended customers have a safe heating source where the water enters the home. It said this is usually in the basement or a utility closet near the water meter.